Sleeping Arrangements
by Calypso Jones
Summary: One shots. Glimpses of the nightlife of our favorite characters: hopes, dreams and genneral snuggling. Each chapter focuses on someone different.
1. Kirara

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Some nights, Kirara would settle down to sleep without transforming back into a kitten. It was nice to be able to stretch, to be able to feel the night air ripple down the length of her fur, but mostly it was nice to be needed.

She knew she was helpful – she knew her mistress and her friends would never have gotten as far as they had without her – but sometimes it was nice just to have her family around her. When she was large, her mistress and the kitsune would snuggle down into her fur to sleep, leaning against her and trusting her to guard them through the night.

It reminded her of her own kittens, the youngest now already grown and with masters and mistresses of their own.

She knew, of course, that one day her mistress would lie curled with the monk, that he would be the one she turned to for safety from bad dreams, but she didn't mind. They would have kittens of their own that she could curl up with. She might even have more kittens herself, if the time was right.

But for now, she reveled in being needed.


	2. Sango

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Sango couldn't help it…sometimes she needed to cuddle. She knew she could get a hug from Kagome and Shippo – even the monk if she didn't mind his wondering hands – but it wasn't the same. Sometimes she needed someone warm and caring just to hold.

One day, she hoped it would be the monk. He would have to gain some better manners before then, but she could hope. For now, it was Kirara.

She knew her pet looked young, but it was far from the truth. She looked helpless, but that wasn't true either. She was smart and fierce and more than capable of caring for herself.

Sango didn't care. At night, when everyone else was asleep, she cuddled the kitten close and was comforted.


	3. Miroku

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Miroku dreamed of women.

He generally slept as he meditated – upright – but it wasn't comfortable and so he dreamed of the things that made him happy. Smiling eyes, beautiful faces, the promise of many boomerang-wielding children born without air voids…

Miroku dreamed of women.

Now he only dreamt of a woman.

One day it would be her, not his staff, that he held close. One day it would be a futon, not a tree, that he lay against. One day, he would have a life, a family, a home and not a hollow grave.

One day, he would have Sango.


	4. Shippo

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Shippo knew Kagome didn't understand why he slept curled against her. He wasn't afraid, he wasn't cold, and he wasn't even really used to sleeping so close to someone…he was building a den.

His parents were gone. First his mother had died, now his father…and she didn't replace them. He didn't want her too, and she didn't try. Instead, she was like an older sister…she would protect him, keep him warm and happy, but she wasn't a mother.

She wasn't a demon.

She wasn't a fox.

She was home.

He slept close to her, curled against her in that sleeping bag, because she was part of his home, part of his den. She was familiar and sheltering and comforting, like a nightlight, and that was what he needed.

She was a home that traveled with him, an island of consistency in his life.

He snuggled closer and decided she didn't have to understand.


	5. Kagome

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Kagome didn't like camping.

It was bothersome being away from simple conveniences, it was dirty, it was buggy, it was entirely not worth it.

And she did it every night.

At first, she had been afraid to sleep here…she was traveling alone with a grumpy, dog eared boy she wasn't sure wouldn't leave her in the night. Shippo had made it a little better…he lay against her like Buyo and she could pretend the hard ground was her bed. Miroku hadn't been a great addition…she worried he would make a grab in the dark, but at least she knew Inuyasha kept a closer eye on her after that. And then Sango and Kirara had come…at least now she knew she was safe, even if Inuyasha should run off to Kikyo…

Shippo snuggled closer and she pulled herself away from thoughts of the dead priestess.

Kagome didn't like camping. But she liked it a lot more than she liked sleeping indoors in this era.

She was used to the mattresses of her time, used to the indoor plumbing that made chamber pots passé, used to…

…Used to Inuyasha resting on the branches just over head. Close and careful and just out of reach. She didn't like him in another room.

She didn't like bugs. She didn't like being dirty. She didn't like the hard ground or the sharp rocks. But – she chanced a look towards the nearest tree – maybe camping wasn't so bad after all.


	6. Inuyasha

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Inuyasha didn't sleep.

At least, he didn't need to.

Much.

Truth was, Inuyasha loved to sleep. He'd do it every night if he could. He might even take naps, just for the hell of it.

He didn't have that luxury. He never had. He probably never would.

As it was, sleeping about eight hours over the course of three days was enough to keep him at the top of his game. Assuming, of course, that there were no major battles or injuries he had to recover from.

He wasn't getting enough sleep. Stupid Naraku. Stupid jewel. He _liked_ sleeping, damnit!

He could hear things moving in the dark, he knew he couldn't sleep now, but that didn't mean he couldn't think about sleep…

He could sleep in Kagome's bed. She would let him. It was soft and warm and it smelled like her…It was one of the few places he would willingly sleep lying down, and the one time he had slept there he had gotten the best sleep of his life.

He could sleep the few times he had lain in Kagome's lap. Sure, he was injured in those instances, sometimes even human and more prone to sleep, but she was trustworthy and nice smelling. He always felt better when he woke and his head was still in her lap with her hand smoothing over his hair.

And, he imagined, he would be able to sleep when he had a mate. He would build her a house and every night he would lie on a futon with her in his arms, sleeping. He could guard her from danger, even asleep, because she would be so close to him, holding him in her arms as well, and he wouldn't need to be awake to know she was safe.

She wouldn't need that sleeping bag, because he would keep her warm, and instead of Shippo that roundness at her stomach would his pup growing inside her, and…and…

His eyes drifted close with a lazy smile on his face. She was safe for now and she would be safe forever once she was in his arms.


	7. Sesshomaru

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Lizards were cold blooded. Dragons were a kind of lizard.

Sesshomaru found himself gazing at the two headed dragon across the fire with a small frown.

Ahun was a useful mount and capable of shooting lightning. He was also fond of Rin, letting her ride him and protecting her if necessary.

But he would wrap himself around her as she slept.

Dragons were cold blooded. Rin was warm blooded.

Was the dragon keeping her safe through the night, or was he using her as his own personal heat source? Was he stealing her warmth?

Sesshomaru disliked the thought.

Before Rin, they had not stopped to make camp every night. Jaken and Ahun required more sleep than he did, true, but even they did not need sleep more than once a fortnight. Before Rin, they had not made campfires. Jaken was capable of freezing and thawing out unharmed and Ahun would take turns shooting lightning at each other's heads if it got too cold.

Stopping was for Rin. Fire was for Rin. Rin's warmth was _not_ for the dragon, no matter how many heads it had or how much it liked the girl.

This problem would be rectified.

Almost before he was aware of it, he had snatched the girl from the dragons grasp with the end of his tail, carrying her across the clearing to him with out him even having to stand. The dragon's four eyes watched her go. Sesshomaru glared, daring the dragon to complain about it.

Ahun rumbled resignedly and went back to sleep.

Rin burrowed into the warm fun unconsciously.

Sesshomaru pulled her close, her head pillowed on his right thigh and his tail wrapped around her loosely.

Dragons were cold blooded. Rin was warm blooded. Sesshomaru wasn't a dragon.

And that, he decided, was enough thinking for one night.


End file.
